Closer to Love
by somekindofwonderland
Summary: "I'm not interesting" Emma said, a blush creeping up to her cheeks."Yes you are! I can guarantee there isn't anyone else in the room like you" James told her. "That's not necessarily a good thing" said Emma."It is to me" He replied.
1. Chapter 1

Emma was nothing like James Potter. She would rather read books than attend parties, and refused to drink alcohol, even though she was of age. School meant everything to her, and she hated participating in any form of physical activity (although she loved watching quidditch). She had a tiny family, consisting of only her older brother, Jonathan, her mum Aurora, and her dad, Oliver Wood. She had 2 cousins, both muggle, as her mum was muggle born and the only witch in her family. And most of all, she was a Gryffindor, but had not a clue why. She was not brave or daring, not courageous or a risk taker.

James on the other hand, was the life of the party. He was drinking alcohol by the time he was 14 ( though he wouldn't be considered an alcoholic, he wasnt that bad). He couldn't really care less about school, and seemed to do well in all his classes without trying. He was the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, playing the position of chaser like his mum. Emma was sure that he was related to over half of the people at Hogwarts, and no doubt 99% of the redheads. He was also the picture perfect Gryffindor, he was courageous and daring and his life seemed to be defined by how many risks he took.

Everyone knew James Potter, heck, everyone _loved_ James Potter. Emma doubted that half of her year level knew who she was. But that didn't bother her, she liked it that way, although at some points it could get rather irritating, it seemed a tradition now that her and her friends could easily disguise her as the new girl, and nobody would even blink. She was the shadow in the background, never answering questions in class, never joining any clubs, reading in the corner of the common room, while James and his family laughed loudly and played exploding snap.

* * *

"C'mon Emma, you have to come to this party, it's your last year! Do something for once!" Her friend Alice Longbottom told her. Alice was Emma's best friend, along with Dominique Weasley. You might think that being friends with a Weasley might make Emma louder and more confident, but that just wasn't possible. Emma was loud around them, sometimes, but never around others, she very rarely opened up to anyone, even her best friends.

"I am doing something Ali, I'm reading. It's very entertaining, much more than loud music and sweaty people who stink of firewhisky" Emma replied, digging her nose further in her book. Alice groaned.

"DOM! HELP ME GET EMMA OFF HER ASS AND READY FOR THE PARTY!" She yelled into the bathroom, where Dominique was busy curling her hair. Emma looked up from her book in horror, once you set Dom to a task, it was always completed. She was once dared to turn the castle orange for a day in first year, and while everyone thought she had forgotten, one day in fourth year everyone woke up to find she had finally succeeded.

"No, don't make me do it!" Emma screamed as Dom pulled her off her bed by the ankles and into the bathroom.

"Stay there while I get your outfit, and no complaining!" Dom warned her. Emma sighed, giving in to the fact that she was going to the annual start of year Gryffindor party, held by the one and only James Potter and Fred Weasley, make that two and only, whatever makes the most sense. Maybe she could just stay for an hour or two, hiding in the corner, and then sneak up to her dorm she shared with Ali, Dom and Roxy Weasley, but Roxy was Head Girl this year so she probably wouldn't be spending much time there.

"Alright, shove this on, and whatever you say it is not too short or too tight or too low, okay? You will look beautiful tonight" Dom said as she threw some clothes through the door.

A groan escaped Emma's mouth as she picked up the items of clothing that had been thrown through the door. She let out another groan as she noticed that Dom had also passed through underwear, consisting of a nude bra and a - wait - a thong._ Really Dom? A thong? She's joking if she thinks I'll actually wear that! _Emma sighed in relief as she noticed that the top Dom had chosen for her was just a simple plain white t-shirt. She slid it over her head. The item that completed the simple outfit was a short flowing leather skirt. Emma looked at herself in the mirror cautiously, scared of what she might look like. She turned around and saw that she looked good. Different, but good. She stepped out of the bathroom, to see Dom kneeling on the floor going through all of Alice's clothes to find an outfit for her, while Alice was kneeling behind Dom curling her hair around her wand. It was always like this, Dom chose the outfit, Alice did the hair and Emma did the makeup. Emma cleared her throat, catching her friends attention.

"How do I look?" She asks sheepishly.

"Stunning! You really need to get out more Emma, the boys would be crawling all over you!" Alice complimented her.

"She's right Em's, you look gorge- SHIT ALI YOUR'RE BURNING MY HAIR FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" Dom yelled. Alice quickly unwrapped her friends hair from the wand, muttering a spell to make it cool down.

"It's okay, no hair's been burnt off" Alice informed us, laughing. The girls all laughed before there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Emma yelled.

"Its me, I need you to do my makeup!" The unmistakable voice of Rose Weasley yelled back through the door. Emma had done Rose's makeup for parties since last year, and it was a pleasure. Rose had gorgeous long red hair and wide blue eyes, perfect for many styles of makeup. She burst in through the door, tripping over all the clothes that were strewn across the floor.

"Are you coming to the party Emma? You look amazing!" Rose exclaimed.

"I am actually, the girls are forcing me. You look beautiful too!" Emma told her.

"We are not forcing, merely threatening death if you don't come" Dom laughed. The girls all joined in laughing and Emma got out her enormous makeup bag. She loved makeup with a passion, though she never wore much, just some foundation, eyeliner and mascara. Not like some of the girls at school who packed it on. She gestured for Rose to sit down and tried to think positive about tonight, putting on a brave face and taking a deep breath. _I will have fun tonight, I will, _she prayed.

* * *

Loud music filled the common room and the party was in full swing. Emma had been there for two hours and had so far hardly even cracked a smile. The music was far too loud, and not of her taste, drunken teenagers stumbled around the room, smelling heavily of firewhisky and various other types of alcohol that Emma would never even dare having. She sighed, taking off her heeled boots and curling up on the couch in the corner where she normally read in peace.

She would go back to her dorm, but Dom had put a password on the door so she couldn't get back in. Closing her eyes and resting her cheek on her hand, Emma tried to relax a bit more, but she felt something tap her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open too see James Potter staring her in the face.

"What do you want Potter?" Emma snapped, annoyed he had interrupted her while she was trying to relax.

"Well, you see, I was looking around at this party I'm holding, you know this is my party right?" He asked, clearly a bit tipsy.

"Yes, I am aware of that"

"So yeah, I was looking around, making sure everyone was having a good time, when I noticed you, sitting in the corner, alone. So I thought, hey, something might be wrong, I'll go and see, and then I saw Albus snogging some girl so I hit him on the back, ruining the moment. I mean, what was he doing snogging a girl anyway, he's only like, 12!" James continued, making less sense by the second.

"Potter, Albus is 16" She informed him.

"12, 16, whats the difference?" He asked, slurring his words together.

"What does any of this have to do with you coming and talking to me anyway?" Emma asked, starting to get slightly irritated.

"I'm not really sure to be honest. I'm James Potter by the way, you're Emma aren't you, Emma Woods. The girl that never talks in class and always reads and is really pretty and Dom says you're really loud when you want to be, that's you, isn't it?" He questioned. Emma widened her eyes, shocked at all the information that he had just spilled out of his mouth. James Potter knew who she was? That couldn't be possible, no one knew who she was. And he called her pretty! Really pretty! Nobody had ever called Emma that before.

"What, you look all shocked, I haven't gotten you confused with someone else have I?"

"No, it's just, no ones really ever noticed me before" Emma said sheepishly.

"Oh, that's not true! Everyone notices you, how could they not, I mean, you've gone to this school for seven years now, if someone hadn't noticed you they'd be pretty damn stupid" He told her. Emma just smiled and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"I'm pretty tipsy aren't I? Maybe I should get a water. Stay here" He mumbled before going to find a glass of water. Emma sighed, thinking about what James had said to her. She was surprised he was even talking to her. Dom had probably sent him over to her to get her to have some fun. Where was Dom anyway? Emma looked around, searching fo ra blonde haired beauty. She spotted her sitting in a corner, snogging some guy that look like he was in 6th year. _Great, now I'll never get the password _she thought. Just as she was thinking of plans on how to get back into the dorm, James sat down at her feet, leaning against the chair that she was sitting on.

"Why did you get water anyway, don't you love getting drunk?" She asked him.

"Usually yes, but if I was drunk I probably wouldn't remember talking to you, and that would be bad" He told her, tilting his head back to look in her eyes. His eyes were a deep brown, and Emma could stare at them for days. After pretty much staring at him, she finally registered what he'd said.

"And why would you want to talk to me?" She asked him playfully, growing some confidence.

"Because I think you're interesting" He replied simply. She stared at him, bug-eyed.

"I'm not interesting" Mumbled Emma, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"You know, if you're going to be that quiet, and you still expect me to hear what you're saying, you might want to sit down here" He laughed, patting a spot on the floor next to him. Emma got up slowly and took a seat on the floor next to him, resting her back on the chair.

"Now what was it you said?" James questioned.

"I'm not interesting" Emma replied, a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Yes you are! I can guarantee there isn't anyone else in the room like you"

"That's not necessarily a good thing" said Emma.

"It is too me"

* * *

**So, how did you like it? I've had loads of ideas for fanfictions before, but never had the courage or patience to post it, but this idea just stuck with me! **

**Please review so I know what you think of it, or if anyone's actually reading haha.**

**:)**


	2. Chapter 2

There's one thing you should know about James Potter. He didn't have girl friends. Or girlfriends. Girls either hated him, or were in love with him. He could hardly ever hold a conversation with a girl outside of his family, he found them so shallow. Sure, they were nice to look at and all, but once they opened their mouths he immediately tuned out. And one thing that not many people realized was that he had never had a girlfriend. There was the occasional fling, but the longest one of them had lasted was 4 days.

This all changed when James started talking to Emma. She was interesting and funny, and she was different to other girls. No wonder Dom was friends with her. She hated parties, and would rather be reading. She didn't drink, because as she said 'what's the point of drinking and doing something either crazy fun or stupid if you can't remember it in the morning? I like to have fun and remember it, and not having nights ending in me vomiting all over the place'. James loved talking to her. He didn't fancy her, that would be stupid. She was like a sister. Or so he told himself, his family seemed to think otherwise.

"James, you haven't stopped talking about her since the party, which was a week ago. You fancy her" Fred told him. James shrugged it off like usual.

"I do not fancy her, okay? Will you please just leave it?" He pleaded. "If people keep saying that then she's gonna get freaked out and stop talking to me!" He continued. James doubted she knew what people were saying, she was always off in a world of her own. He looked over to her sitting in the corner of the common room, face buried in a book while Dom and Alice chatted loudly around her. James wondered how she could shut the world out like that, he certainly couldn't do it.

"Alright mate, whatever you say" Fred mumbled. "So, when are you holding quidditch tryouts?" He continued, trying to change the subject.

"I'm thinking Tuesday next week? We just need a keeper and a chaser, and I think Hugo would be great as keeper" James replied, grateful of the change of subject.

* * *

They continued to talk about quidditch until late, when most people had gone up to bed.

"I'm off to bed mate, are you coming up?" Fred asked James.

"Nah, not yet. I'll stay down here for a bit more" He replied. Fred made his way upstairs, leaving James in the common room with a few sixth years and some second years that seemed to be competing as to who could stay up the longest. James relaxed in his chair, closing his eyes. He felt someone sit down next to him and slowly opened his eyes to find out who the stranger was. It was Albus Potter.

"What's up little brother?" He asked.

"How do I ask a really nice girl out?" Al blurted.

"Wow, jump straight to the point there mate" James laughed. "And I think you've come to the wrong person about that. After all, I am Mr Never Even Had A Girlfriend" He continued.

"Yeah, but you know about girls though? They love you" Al replied sheepishly.

"They love me because I'm the son of the Chosen One and captain of the quidditch team, not because I can hold an interesting conversation with them" Just as James was saying this, Emma walked down from the girls dormitories.

"Ask Emma! She's a girl" James yelled.

"What am I being asked?" Emma replied looking dazed.

"My dear little brother is having some girl problems" James whispered loudly.

"Oooooh! Tell me everything!" Emma squealed, going into matchmaker mode. Albus shifted uncomfortably, looking at Emma sceptically.

"You won't tell anyone?" He asked her.

"I pinky promise" She replied confidently, sticking out her pinky finger at him. Both James and Al looked at her strangely.

"Pinky promise?" They both asked in unison.

"Oh, right. It's a muggle thing. My mum's a muggle so she still does muggle things around the house and stuff, so I'm used to it. You hook your pinky into mine and you make a promise. It's pretty stupid really. It just means I won't tell" Emma laughed. Albus hesitantly hooked his finger with hers and she promised she wouldn't tell a soul.

"So, there's this girl in my year, and she's really amazing. I really want to ask her out, but I don't know if she likes me or how to ask her our or where to take her if she says yes or"

"Wait, is this the girl you were snogging last week?" James said, cutting Al off.

"Yeah, then you ruined it" Al replied.

"Well she definitely fancies you" Emma told him simply. "So now you just have to ask her out. Just talk to her by yourselves and just say so I really like you blah de blah blah come to hogsmeade with me and have my babies" She continued.

"Firstly, the first hogsmeade trip isn't until October, and I don't want children yet" Al replied.

"So sneak out. There's loads of tunnels. You could put candles in one so it wouldn't be as creepy"

"Woah, Emma, you've snuck into hogsmeade before?" James asked incredulously.

"Sure. Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I can't sneak out. I need my retail therapy" Emma stated. James widened his eyes in shock, as did Al.

"So I just tell her I fancy her and ask if she wants to go to hogsmeade with me?" Al asked.

"Yep. Or you could keep it a secret where you're going. Blindfold her. But then she might think you're going to rape her. Yeah, don't do that"

"Okay. Thanks Emma" Al said as he got up to go to bed, sounding relieved.

"Right, why did I come down here dressed in my baby hipogriff pajamas before you interrupted me?" Emma laughed.

"To see this incredibly sexy face. Nice pajamas as well" James smirked.

"I'm pretty sure it was to go and get food. So, yeah, I'm going to go and get some food" She said whilst getting up off the couch.

"Night Emma"

"Good night James"

* * *

"So, have you asked her out yet?" Emma said casually as she ran into Al in the library. It had been a few days since she had spoken to him about it and wanted to see if he had made any progress. He seemed very shy compared to the rest of his family, and never really caused any drama.

"Shh" Al said as he looked around nervously, hoping no one had heard.

"I'll take that as a no then" Emma laughed.

"I'm just so nervous! I mean, what if she says no?" Al whispered frantically.

"Well, she was snogging you the other week, and I'm pretty sure any girl would be crazy not to go on a date with Albus Potter" Al just sighed and returned to his homework.

"So what about you and my brother?" Al said while he got up and went to the shelf to get a new book.

"What about me and your brother?" Emma asked suspiciously. She had heard what people had been saying, that he fancied her, she fancied him. It seemed to be big news that that they had been spending time together.

"Well, he never shuts up about you. And any moment he's not with Fred or the clan, he's with you" said Al, sitting back down and staring her in the face.

"He doesn't fancy me, okay?" Emma sighed, getting frustrated. "Why would anyone fancy me? Merlin that makes me sound depressed doesn't it. I just mean that I'm not the type of girl a guy would want as their girlfriend. Especially not your brother" She continued. Emma had never had a proper boyfriend, but it didn't bother her that much. As Gloria Steinem said, a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

"Sure they would! And you're perfect for James, we all know it! Dom's been bugging him endlessly to marry you so that she can be your cousin in law or something" Al laughed.

"Yeah, but he hasn't actually told anyone that he fancies me, has he? Plus, I don't fancy him so it would just make things awkward" Emma said, getting up to leave.

"Don't go, I need help with my Charms essay. Sorry for bringing James up" Al apologized.

"I'll stay, but only if you ask that girl out tomorrow, and tell me who she is!" Emma negotiated.

"Deal" Al said, shaking his hand with her.

As Emma was helping Al with his homework, she wondered whether people really thought they made the perfect couple. I mean, they were polar opposites, how could they be perfect? And she didn't even fancy him, sure he was attractive and nice and funny and she couldn't help but smile when she thought of him, but that didn't mean she fancied him, did it?

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm not overly happy with it, but I had terrible writers block and just managed to choke this out after working on it for days! I am literally falling asleep as I write this, so sorry if there's any spelling or grammar mistakes, please tell me if there are. Thankyou to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed, I couldn't stop smiling when I saw them :D**

**Bubbles23 - Thankyou for your review, it means alot to me!**

**I'll try and update every tuesday, but don't harass me if I don't! Easter holidays are next week, so I should be able to write more. It's also my birthday in a week *hint hint* ;) **

**Anyway, please review, favorite and follow, it means so much to me :) xo**

**P.S Just got this review on the first chapter, it's from a guest so I can't PM them but it made me laugh. Review was as follows :why dose anyone one have their main porson dress like a slut. i mean that is not kool at all and gets wemon raped. **

**May I note that their name was 'not kool' **

**I would just like to say, after many hours of deciphering horrible spelling mistakes, I have this too say : My main character was never meant to be dressed like a slut, I'm sorry if that is how it appeared. I understand what you are saying (behind all the spelling mistakes) but if you really wanted to make a point you should of spelt women right. All I can think of is lemons getting raped. I know that rape is not a joke, but too think that a skirt and t - shirt is slutty and encouraging rape isn't true, in my opinion. **

**Sorry for the overly long authors note, I am now off to bed :)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Dear sis,_

_I feel so bad for hardly seeing you over Summer, so I decided that I'm going to try to write to you as much as possible. _

_You'll be happy to hear I broke up with Lindsay, I caught her sleeping with Rodgers, the Arrows chaser. I kicked her out, and threw all her clothes out the window into the street, she had a right go at me for that. I also put some orange hair dye in her shampoo, thought it could match her skin. _

_Hope the teachers aren't giving you too much work, my last year was hell. Say hi to Dom and Alice for me, I bet they're missing me. _

_From you absolutely hottest and most amazing brother ever, Sex pants ;)_

Emma laughed as she put the letter down. Thank god he had dumped that slag Lindsay, she was horrible.

"Oi, you two, Jonathan says hi " She told them, stuffing the letter in her bag. Jonathan was like a brother to the girls, they stayed at Emma's so much over the holidays.

"He also says he dumped that slag of a girlfriend he had, she was cheating on him with one of the Harpies chasers"

"Oh thank god, she was horrible. Can you remember that time she said that Dom could be her ugly little sister" Alice replied.

"Oh my gosh yes! I wanted to slap her so bad" Dom replied, her eyes filling with anger. James slid into the seat next to Dom, filling his plate with bacon, eggs, sausages and toast.

"Who did you want to slap?" He asked.

"Courtney's brothers ex girlfriend. Wait, you go for the Appleby Arrows don't you? One of your chasers is a dickhead" Dom said.

"Yeah, which one and why?"

"Rodgers, he was sleeping with my brothers ex while they were going out" Emma replied with an edge to her voice.

"I never liked him" James told her with a wink. Emma laughed it off but continued to eat her meal in silence, leaving her friends to make conversation. Emma had started finding it awkward talking to him, given the rumors that were circulating. She knew he didn't like her, but what was worrying her was that she thought maybe, just maybe, she might be starting to like him. She couldn't stop thinking about him, and found herself smiling at the mention of his name. Even with him sitting across from her, she felt like he could tell she was thinking about him. Keen to get away from it all, she got up to go to her first class.

"I'm off to go to potions in the dungeons" She mumbled, her friends not even noticing that she'd gotten up.

"Wait up! I have potions too" A voice called out from behind her. Great, she had potions with James too. Emma stopped walking, waiting for him to catch up with her, but not turning around. He soon fell into step behind her and they walked to the dungeons in silence.

* * *

"As I said last class, this lesson you will be split into pairs which you will stay in for the rest of the year. I have carefully chosen your pairs so that there will be maximum learning and minimal chatting" Professor Jameson said from the front of the classroom. Emma groaned. She had completely forgotten about the pairs, and could guess instantly who she would be paired with. Professor Jameson was renowned for being the biggest matchmaker in the school, and quite often was known to split her class into pairs according to who she thought would make a good couple. With all the rumors about her and James, Emma had no doubt that they would be paired together. She just wanted to get away from him for a bit so she could figure out was she was feeling, and to hopefully stop feeling it.

"First pair, James Potter and Emma Wood"

Emma sighed and went to find a table, James trailing behind her.

"It seems that even Jameson has heard the rumors" She laughed, trying to have some fun.

James shifted awkwardly in his seat before answering "You heard that?"

"James, just because I sit in the corner and read in the evening doesn't mean I'm deaf" Emma replied. People seemed to think that she was ignorant of school gossip, when in fact she heard everything. She knew that Al had finally asked out Sophia Madden, and that she had said yes, before Al had told her. She knew that Marcus Mclaggen was currently snogging Fern Reed, but they weren't an item. She heard Jenny Zabini calling her 'best friend' the most annoying bitch to walk the earth. And, most importantly, she knew that Lily Potter had gotten a boyfriend, but was too scared to tell her family. Emma never told anyone about anything she knew, as after all, she wasn't supposed to know.

"I didn't think you paid attention to school gossip" James said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Being invisible kind of involves hearing people say what they don't want anyone else to hear, and hearing people whispering in the corner about the latest gossip. Nobody knows I'm there, so they just keep talking" Emma replied. James gave her an incredulous look, asking for proof.

"Don't be surprised if Marcus Mclaggen doesn't hit any bludgers at Fern in the next Quidditch match they play against each other. They're snogging in broom closets" She told him. Fern was a Gryffindor chaser, and Mclaggen was the Hufflepuff beater. How someone as lovely as Fern would ever snog someone as revolting as Mclaggen, Emma would never know.

"You're joking? He's a dick though!" James cried. Jameson gave him a warning look, and started to walk over to their table.

"Page 26 Potter, don't make me give you a detention" She called out to them.

"Have I ever told you how lovely your eyes are Professor?" James replied.

* * *

Every year on the 15 of September, all the Weasley/ Potter girls held an annual birthday sleepover for Dom. It had started in second year with Dom, Roxy, Molly, Victoire (even though she was 16 at the time) and Alice and Emma had been invited as well, being Dom's best friends. Ever since then, on the Saturday before Dom's birthday, all the girls would pile mattresses, pillows and blankets all over the floor, so the carpet could not be seen. This year was no exception, and at 7pm on Saturday night giggles and screams could be heard from the stairway to the girls dormitory.

"Wait, I've lost track of how many of you there are. So us three, Roxy, Rose, Lily and Lucy. Have I forgotten anyone?" Alice asked, counting on her fingers.

"Nope, that's it. There's only seven of us now that Molly's graduated" Dom replied. Her, Alice, Emma and Roxy were in seventh year, Rose was in sixth, Lucy in fifth and Lily in fourth year. Dom and Alice were the loud ones, Roxy, Rose and Lucy were the smart ones and Lily and Emma the quiet ones. Overall they all got along perfectly.

"So, truth or dare and never have I ever like normal? And then we can just do whatever, like usual" Dom confirmed. "And have we got all the lollies and drinks, I don't fancy sneaking into the kitchens tonight wearing my pajamas" she continued, checking things off of her list. They continued to sort out the dorm and clean things up when they heard someone banging on the door.

"Oi! Open up you lot!" The unmistakable voice of Roxanne Weasley called through the door. Emma rushed over and opened the door for her, and was greeted by some levitating blankets and pillows.

"Roxy! We haven't seen you in ages, you're so bloody busy with head duties"Alice yelled, crushing her with a hug.

Next to arrive was Rose, followed quickly by Lucy and Lilly. Soon enough the floor was covered and the music was blasting. Emma had cast a muffliato charm on the door so that no one could hear their conversations. The girls settled themselves into a circle on the floor and Dom whistled to get everyone's attention, an evil smile planted on her face.

"All right everyone! Truth or dare time"

* * *

**So, hello again! I hope you had a lovely easter! I don't have much to say this time except that ITS MY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW. That explains the completely spontaneous birthday party in this chapter. Please review, favourite and follow :D **

**Also, who watched Doctor Who?! I loved it so much, let me know what you thought :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, authors note first this chapter! I am so sorry for not updating last week! Surprisingly I was actually out with friends for most of the week and I had planned to update thursday but I couldn't. And then I wrote loads on Sunday and went to finish it just now, it had all deleted D: I now have a whole chapter to write so I have put on the HPPS soundtrack to inspire me. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"I really hate you"Emma told her friends, eyeing the vial of veritaserum in front of her.

"C'mon Em's, you can't hate us that much! We do this every year!" Roxy laughed.

"Yeah, but before you never had any interesting questions to ask me" Emma sighed. The girls just laughed at her and Emma hoped that they had some kindness in them and wouldn't ask anything about James. She was becoming even more unsure of her feelings towards him. She had avoided him for as long as possible, although that just made her want to see him more. She had noticed him trying to get her attention and calling out to her in the hallways, but she just ignored him. He had spoken to her their last potions lesson about it, but she quickly changed the subject to the quidditch tryouts.

"Alright ladies, bottoms up!" Rose called before downing her veritaserum in one go. They had gotten it from George Weasley, Roxy's dad and owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. He had a specific potion for truth or dare, but Roxy convinced him to give them a stronger potion, like veritaserum. The girls all swallowed their portions of the potion and looked around the circle hesitantly. Dom, Alice and Roxy all seemed excited while Rose and Lucy looked a bit nervous. Lily looked so scared that she was about to be sick. Alice laid her wand in the centre of the circle and spun it. Whoever it landed on would be the victim of either a truth or dare, whatever they chose. The wand came to a halt at Dom, and she was ecstatic.

"Dare. You don't even need to ask me" Dom laughed.

"Okay, I dare you to sneak into the boys dorm, steal the marauders map and then go and put green dye in their shampoo" Alice said.

"That's easy, Lil's give me the cloak" Dom replied.

"Wait, I hadn't finished yet. No cloak. Disillusionment charm only" Alice smirked. Dom's face transformed from a wide grin to a look of horror in less than a second.

"But, they'll see me. I can't do disillusionment charms that well! Emma please do it for me! Pretty please?"

Emma was the best at charms and Dom knew it. Professor Flitwick himself had said that Emma was nearly better at charms than him. She contemplated her options, realizing that Dom was never going to let her say no.

"Fine, but I'll come with you to make sure you do it" Emma gave in, pulled her wand out from her pocket and cast the spell on Dom. She slowly became invisible, turning into the colour of the wall behind her.

"Good luck!" Lucy called as they left the room.

Emma walked in front of Dom as they walked to the other side of the tower, clearing the way for her in case anyone walked past. Once they were near the boys dorm, Emma pulled Dom aside, after much searching around to find her.

"Okay, so you'll probably want to get the map last, as that's not under the charm, and remember the spell to turn the shampoo green" Emma whispered.

"Okay, okay. Wait here for me, I'll whisper rape in you ear when I get back so you know its me" Dom laughed.

"Oh lovely. Wait, do you hear that?" Emma replied. They went silent for a few seconds and listened intently in the direction of James and Fred's dorm. They could hear snippets of conversation, although it wasn't loud enough to tell who the speakers were.

"... please stop!... for days and I'm sure ... these rumours. ...want to be friends!" The girls looked back at each other, eyebrows raised. "Juicy" Dom whispered in Emma's ear.

"But is... what you ... Do you really want...?"

"... alone, Emma's not his type .." Emma gasped in shock, and then raised her hand to her mouth. The talking stopped for a second, but then started again.

"And who's type ... Louis?" Louis? What was Louis doing in James and Fred's dorm? And why were they talking about Emma? And types? She struggled to keep quiet, and raised her hand to her mouth again to stop her blurting out all the questions running through her mind.

"Well... she's bloody fit" Emma heard a high pitched squeal, and was worried for a second that it had come out of her mouth, but then realized it was Dom.

"Dom, what the fuck?"Emma said out loud. The dorm went deadly silent, and only the laughter coming from the common room could be heard. Before Emma and Dom could escape, the door flew open and James stormed out. He froze in shock when he saw Emma standing outside his door. Emma felt Dom slip behind her and through the boys door while it was still open, still ready to complete the dare.

"Uhh.. hi?" Emma said, it coming out sounding like a question.

"Hi" He said tentatively. "How long have you been standing there?" He continued. Emma thought about lying, but then remembered the veritaserum.

"Long enough to know you were talking about me. Unless you know someone else called Emma, in which case this would be really awkward and I would probably leave" Emma blurted out. She prayed he didn't ask her why she'd been avoiding him, because she would be forced to tell him that she somewhat had feelings for him. James just looked at her strangely before continuing.

"Why have you-" James started, but Emma cut him off to avoid answering the question.

"Why is Louis in your dorm?" She asked.

"Uhh.. well, we sorta do this thing, every year while all you girls have a sleepover, all the boys come into Fred and I's dorm and hang out.. over night. But it's not a sleepover, more of a- a manover" James told her. Emma couldn't stop herself from laughing at the image of all the boys having a pillow fight and painting each others nails that had entered her mind.

"Sorry, I just thought of you painting each others nails and having a pillow fight" Emma managed to say before bursting out into another fit of laughter. Before long James had started laughing as well and they were each holding onto each other for support.

"Who goes to this little 'manover' of yours?" She asked him once they had calmed down. Before he could answer, she felt something brushing up against her.

"Rape" Dom whispered in her ear. Emma screamed before Dom dragged her back down the hallway, still almost invisible to James.

* * *

The day after James' manover, he was extremely tired. He felt as though he had a horrible hangover, yet he hadn't had anything to drink last night, well, not that he knew of. He tried thinking back to last night, her remembered talking about quidditch tryouts, about Al's date, how Lily had been quieter than usual lately, talking to Emma and then how she rushed off. Why had she rushed off? He continued to think about this as he crept over the other sleeping boys and into the shower. As she was in the shower, he couldn't stop thinking about Emma. About how she was so secretive, about how he had barely spoken to anyone but her in weeks yet he hardly knew anything about her, how she had suddenly started avoiding him, how she had been helping Al plan is date with that girl, how he couldn't stop thinking about her. He sighed and turned the water off, stepping out of the shower and drying his hair with the towel. As he began to dry his face, he noticed something on the towel. He looked at it again and noticed that patches of the towel were green. Rushing over to the mirror, he saw something that made him furious.

His hair was green.

* * *

**Merlin I don't like this chapter. I like that start but then it sort of just goes downhill. I shall try to do better next time, hopefully it will be Tuesday as usual :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Mocked. Laughed at. Teased. James Potter wasn't familiar with any of these before that day. That day his hair was green. He walked the halls, head hung in shame. It was one thing for a prankster to get pranked, but James Potter wasn't just any prankster. He was _the _prankster. And, the worst thing of all, he had fallen for one of the easiest pranks in the book. Hair dye in the shampoo. Normally after the girls sleepover he and Fred checked the premises for all pranks. But not this time, James had been so busy thinking about bloody Emma that he forgot. And worse than the worst thing of all, James knew that Emma had played part in this prank by distracting him. He had let his guard down, and he had gotten pranked.

He was yet to find out who had actually completed the prank, and how, but he assumed they were the ones that had stolen the marauders map as well. James Potter was angry, annoyed and ready to get revenge. He walked into the great hall with scowl planted on his face and took a seat at the gryffindor table. First years tried to hide their laughter from him, scared of what the big seventh year would do, while the slytherins laughed as loudly as possible, demanding to be heard.

"You know mate, I think that's a great colour on you" Louis commented smirking. James still remembered what he had said last night, about how fit she was, and James could just picture the look in his eyes, hungry, like she was a piece of meat. That pushed James off the edge. Louis was an even bigger player than James, and he was two years younger than him. He wasn't the type to shag whatever moved, more anything that had big boobs and could be considered attractive and out of his league. That was what Louis wanted, a challenge.

"Fuck off Louis" James snapped.

"What's got your wand in a knot Potter? Oh wait, I think I see now, is it that your team is shit? Or the fact that your hair is a bright shade of green?" James turned around to see the face a gleeful Jet Harman, Slytherin quidditch captain.

"Piss off Harman. Do you even realise that even your own house thinks you're the worst captain ever? Like seriously, you haven't won a game in four years" James retorted. He really didn't have time for this, he wished he could just go and eat alone in the kitchens instead of having to deal with Harman.

Jet just laughed before walking off towards the slytherin table, clearly unable to fight back. James let out a sigh of relief and got up to leave.

"Jamie, where are you going? You haven't even eaten" Lily asked him. She was the only person out of the whole family allowed to call James Jamie. He felt he could yell at anyone else out of his family, but never her.

"I'm not hungry" He answered simply. Before anyone could argue, James was halfway to the doors.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked as a certain boy with a certain green shade of hair entered the kitchens.

"Avoiding stares caused by my green hair. What are you doing here?"

"Reading. And eating. But mostly reading"

"I meant, how did you find here?" James asked.

"James, haven't we been over this before, just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I'm deaf. I know all the schools secrets, it would be embarrassing if I didn't know how to find the kitchens" Emma sighed. She was amazed by how much people assumed about her. Just because she read meant she was a nerd, just because she as quiet meant she didn't speak, just because she didn't tell people her secrets, meant she had no secrets. In fact, Emma Wood had many secrets, and one of them may or may not have involved a certain boy with a certain green shade of hair.

"You know, you really should stop talking about this whole 'I know all the schools secrets' thing. It just makes me want to know everything. Is there anything juicy about my family?" James asked eagerly.

"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you" Emma replied truthfully. She never told anyone the secrets she knew, they weren't hers to tell.

"So you do know something? C'mon! It can't be that bad!" James pleaded. He made a puppy dog face at her, and she almost let slip about Lily and her boyfriend.

"Nope" Emma said, popping the p. James groaned, giving in. Maybe he could find a way to get her to tell later.

"Well, I must be off, I have to go to hogsmeade" Emma said, placing her book in her brown messenger bag and stepping out of the booth that had been built in the kitchens by James and Fred in their fifth year.

"Why are you going to hogsmeade?"

"Well, I was hoping to go into the bookstore and get some books and then to the three broomsticks to get a drink and read a bit and then I'm meeting up with my brother" Emma rushed out.

"Can I come?" James asked eagerly. Emma thought about it. She had been avoiding him, but maybe if she spent more time with him would make her realize that what she was feeling was nothing to be worried about.

"Uhhh, sure" Emma replied, giving him a smile.

They walked in silence as Emma led James to her favourite tunnel out of Hogwarts. All of the ones on the marauders map had been closed off, but a few had been created since then, mostly by Emma's brother. James kept glancing at Emma out of the corner of his eye, and it was putting Emma off. She could tell he had something he wanted to say to her, and she wished he'd spit it out. Also, they attracted more stares than usual with James and his green hair, which Emma did feel slightly guilty about.

Emma pulled James down a deserted corridor and into a tiny broom closet.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" James whisper yelled,

"Secret passage" Emma explained. James made a small 'o' shape with his mouth and fell silent. Emma dragged a stack of crates away from the wall which revealed a dark tunnel.

"Lumos" Emma said, igniting the tip of her wand and starting down the passage. She was a few steps in when she noticed James wasn't following her. He seemed to be staring into the distance, not paying any attention.

"Aren't you coming?"

"What, uh yeah, coming" He mumbled, following her into the tunnel. "So where does this come out?" He continued.

"In the Zonko's basement, and it doesn't even matter if anyone see's you there, they don't care if you're skipping school" Emma explained.

"Clever, who made this one?"

"My brother" Emma sighed. Jonathan had always been reckless, and it was lucky he was so good at quidditch, otherwise he would never have gotten a job.

"Really? I always knew your brother was cool" James laughed.

"Trust me, he still has his lucky teddy bear called Borris and when he's upset he calls dad daddy, he also collects spoons" Emma replied. Her brother really was quite strange. James just laughed and they continued walking down the passage in silence. They had been walking for about 10 minutes when Emma stopped and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"What the fuck Emma?!"James yelled.

"There's a fucking spider on the roof! HOLY SHIT IT'S MOVING!" Emma screamed even louder, wrapping her arms around James and burying her head into his chest. James looked up and let out a laugh as he saw what Emma thought was a spider, was actually just the lever to get into the zonko's basement.

"Emma, it's jut the rope to get into zonko's" James reassured her, struggling not to laugh. Emma slowly looked up and untangled herself from James when she saw he was right. A blush crept up to her cheeks and she thanked merlin it was dark so he couldn't see.

"I- uhh, I knew that. Yep, I completely knew that" Emma mumbled. James raised an eyebrow at her which made her blush even more.

They made their way into the Zonko's basement and brushed themselves off. Two employees winked at them as they made their way out of the shop and one commented on James' hair colour.

"Can't believe you fell for that one Potter" They laughed while piling up boxes of Emma laughed and James' cheeks started turning pink.

"I knew it was you" James said to her as they exited the shop.

"What?" Emma asked, confused.

"I know you were there distracting me and making me open the door so that whoever else was with you could get into our dorm" He explained, his face unreadable.

"I was actually just there to make sure they did it, but it turned out quite well, don't you think? Green really makes your eyes pop" Emma giggled.

"Whoever would've thought, Emma Wood, playing pranks, sneaking out to hogsmeade and eavesdropping on conversations"

"Definitely not me"

* * *

Hello hello hello. Not much too say this time but yay its longer and its getting cold in Australia. For any of my fellow Australians reading, who will you be supporting in the ANZAC Day match? Essendon is my team so bombers all the way :D Please favourite, follow and review, it makes me very happy.

P.S for anyone who is scared by the fact I said bombers, its the team name, the Essendon Bombers.


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